confirmed that neither Wesley Fofana nor Youri Tielemans were in the right frame of mind to start in Leicester’s home game against Southampton on Saturday, as they continue to be linked with moves away from the club.
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Both started in the defeat to last weekend, but Fofana is not in the squad at all this time round, while Tielemans had to settle for a place on the bench.
are keen on Fofana, but have seen two bids turned down for the defender, while Arsenal have long been linked with a move for Tielemans.
Rodgers leaving them out of the team does nothing to dispel this speculation and departures are certainly not out of the question before the end of the transfer window.
Asked about the changes to his team, Rodgers told : ‘One, a change in system and two, I mentioned in the week, we’re coming into a Premier League game and maybe we’ve got players who are maybe not quite in the right frame of mind.
‘You can’t carry them, or certainly we can’t. So yeah, that’s the reason for the changes.’
It is no surprise that Fofana was not involved against the Saints,
The 21-year-old is very keen on the move to Chelsea, but Leicester are holding out for a bid of around £80m for the Frenchman.
On how the situation is affecting his early-season preparations, Rodgers said: ‘There’s no denying it.
‘It’s always a tricky period. Your season is starting, you’re trying to get focused, and you spend your summer creating this powerful collective unit, and then there is lots of speculation.
‘These are young guys and it’s the first time they have experienced this for some of them. There can be disruption. The idea is to keep the group focused. The minute the window ends, it all ends.’
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